Electric flatiron cord holder



April 27, 1954 G. o. SCHULZ 2,676,775 ELECTRIC'FLATIRON CORD HOLDER Filed oct. 24, 1949 fnvenior 4 HIIHII Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED STATES OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a holder for an electric flatiron cord, the holder being of the class designed to support the cord while the iron to which it is attached is in use.

Cord holders of the class to which the present invention relates are attached to the edge of an ironing board and support the cord intermediate its ends above the surface of the board in such a manner that it does not interfere with the movement of the flatiron or disturb the article which is the subject of the ironing operation. Although various styles of cord holders heretofore have been designed, these usually have been characterized by constructions in which it has been necessary to detach the entire holder from th ironing board each time it is desired to put the board away, as by storing it on end in a closet, or folding it upright in a built-in cupboard. It then has been necessary to find a separate place of storage for the cord holder.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an ironing cord holder in which the arm thereof is detachably mounted on the means by which the holder is attached to the ironing board so that, by a simple operation, the arm may be removed from the base, leaving the latter in place on the board during storage.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fiatiron cord holder in which the arm thereof is detachably mounted upon the base portion, the latter being provided with means for receiving and supporting the arm when it is thus in demounted position.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of a flatiron cord holder wherein the arm is detachably mounted upon the base, the entire assembly being of simple and inexpensive construction.

Another object is the provision of a fiatiron cord holder having thereon a rotatably mounted arm which swivels with the motion of the cord, thereby preventing the same from kinking.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of the present invention are accomplished will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification and claims considered together with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a, side elevation of the fiatiron cord holder of the present invention shown in position on the edge of an ironing board and supporting the cord; and

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the cord holder of Figure 1 with the arm demounted from the base and attached to the board in position for storage pending a subsequent use.

2 Broadly stated the electric flatiron cord holder of my invention comprises a base having means of attachment to the ironing board, an arm extending upwardly from the base, means for mounting the arm on the base in such a manner that it is freely rotatable thereon and freely disengageable therefrom, and means on the arm for engaging and holding the cord. The means for detachably and rotatably mounting the arm preferably comprise a socket on the base in which the arm may be placed and in which it turns freely. The means for engaging and holding the cord preferably comprise a clip on the end of the arm. In addition, there is present means on the base for retaining the butt end of the arm when it is mounted on the base, the latter remaining aflixed to the ironing board, and the clip serving when clipped on the fabric of the ironing board to support the outer end of the arm when the holder and the ironing board are in storage.

In the embodiment of my invention selected for purposes of illustration the fiatiron cord which is to be held by the cord holder is illustrated in the drawings by the numeral It. The cord is attached, of course, to a flatiron (not shown), which is in use on the ironing board II. The latter may be of conventional construction and as is usual is covered with a cloth [2. The base 13 of the holder may be variously designed and is provided with means for attachment to the edge of the board. The base may b formed, for example, as a U-shaped clamp which slips over the edge of the board and is fastened thereto by means of the screw M. Although this screw may be positioned variously on the clamp, it preferably is on the bottom thereof so that it will engage the under side of the board and not mar or deface the top. I

The base l3 of the holder also is provided with means for detachably mounting the cord holding arm thereon. Such means preferably compris a socket into which the arm slips. This socket may conveniently be formed by providing the U- shaped clamp with perforations l5 and It in its upper and lower legs, respectively.

The upwardly extending arm l8 of the holder is mounted detachably on the base portion by means of its butt end [9 having a cross section slightly smaller than the diameter of the perforations l5, l6 and adapted to enter the same. A shoulder then may be provided on the arm which will engage the upper surface of the base and maintain the arm at the desired height.

Means are provided for imparting flexibility to the arm is so that it will move with the motion of the iron and the cord and, in this manner, serve the desired function of maintaining the cord elevated above the board as the iron traverses the entire surface thereof. Such means may be formed integrally with the arm l8 as by making the latter of a resilient material such as spring steel. In the embodiment illustrated, however, such means comprise the coil spring 20 into which are screwed a threaded end M on the arm [8 and a threaded end 22 on the butt portion Hi. The use of such a spring enables the arm tomove freely back and forth to any desired position as demanded by the movement of the iron and attached cord.

It will be observed that, in this construction the lower surface of the spring 20 serves as the shoulder which engages the upper surface of the base i3, thereby supporting the arm in the desired position.

The arm is also has means for gripping the cord it. Such means preferably comprise a spring clip 23 attached to the arm in any suitable manner as by means of the screw The clip has a design such that it will grasp and support the cord, but also will be adapted to clasp a segment of the cover of the ironing board or a tab attached thereto for a purpose to be developed more fully hereinafter.

Means cooperating with the clip means in supporting the arm when in demounted position are provided on the base of the holder. Such means may comprise any member of design suitable for retaining the base of the arm, as a clip, a chan nel, or the like. However, when as is illustrated, the base comprises a U-shaped clamp, the latter may be proportioned so that it projects outwardly from the edge of the board and, in this manner, forms an opening or socket into which the butt end of the arm may be inserted. When the arm is demounted from the base and the butt end inserted in the clamp in this manner, the clip 2i may be affixed to the covering fabric along the edge of the board or to the tab 25, if such is provided, and the arm, as a result, will be held securely no matter in what position the ironing board is placed for storage. Thus it may be upended, placed at an angle, or 'on its side, without danger of the arm coming loose and falling oil and swinging free. When it is desired to use the holder in another ironing operation, all that is necessary is to disengage the clip from the fabric or from the tab 25, and insert the butt end E9 in the perforations l5, [6 in the base. In this position the holder is ready to support the cord in all positions of the iron on the board, yielding resiliently and swiveling in the socket with the motion of the iron, thereby preventing kinking of the cord and maintaining it out of contact with the work.

Hence in this manner I have provided a fiatiron cord holder of simple construction which may be used fficiently to support the cord or" a fiatiron when the latter is in use, but which may readily be demounted from its base and attached to the board when the latter is in storage.

Having now described m invention in a preferred embodiment, I claim:

1. An electric flatiron cord holder comprising a substantially C-shaped base clamp adapted to clamp over the edge of an ironing board with the throat of the clamp separated from the edge of the board, the two legs of the clamp being formed with registering apertures whereby to form sockets, an upwardly extending arm, the arm being formed with a butt section, a coil spring attached to the butt section, and an upper elongated section attached to the coil spring, the butt section being axially slidable and rotatable within the sockets with the lower edge of the spring rotatably contacting the clamp, thereby making the arm freely rotatable on and freely disengageable from the clamp, and a spring pressed, jaw-type clamp on the upper section of the arm for attachin'g a fiatiron cord to the holder when the latter is in use and for attaching the holder to the board when the holder is not in use.

2. An electric fiatircn cord holder compr' r a substantially G--shaped base clamp adapted to clamp over the edge of an ironing board with the throat of the clamp separated from the edge oi board, the two le s of the clamp being formed with registering apertures whereby to form soclrets, upwardly extending arm, the including a coil spring, a butt section threaded into the lower end 'of the spring and an elongated up er section threaded into the upper end of spri the butt section being axially sli'daole Tole in the sockets and upper peripheral margin of one of thereby mounting disengage-able from the clamp, and clip on the upper section of the arm for attaching the fiatiron cord to the holder when the latter use and for attaching the holder to the b." when the holder is not in use.

and rotatathe spring engaging the the sockets, the arm rotatably on and freely References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

